Bodegas: Juan Haurie

Jean Haurie Nebout was born in Villesegure, Béarn, in the lower French Pyrenees, in about 1719. He was clever and wise, and could spot a good business opportunity, especially if it concerned wine. In 1740 he came to Jerez. He lived in the Plaza Plateros where he ran a bakery/drapery/general merchant business –virtually next door to Patrick Murphy.

Plaza Plateros today

Murphy was an Irish farmer, born possibly in County Cork, who had come to Jerez in 1725 and established a timber business, having no doubt fled Ireland for religious, political or poverty reasons. He was a bachelor and of a slightly sickly disposition, but had a good eye for business and soon saw that the Sherry trade was more profitable. By 1730 he had established himself in the wine trade, having bought vineyards in Ramona, Prunes and Balbaína, and bodegas in the Calle Tornería, where he lived, and also Prado de San Sebastián.

Haurie and Murphy became close friends, and the former helped Murphy in his wine business until 1762 when he inherited it along with its vineyards on Murphy’s death. Murphy was a bachelor and had no one else to leave it to. Haurie was delighted to get properly into the wine trade, re-named the firm Juan Haurie, and abandoned his previous business. It flourished and he became well known and popular. He supplied the first wines to James Duff. But then his efforts collided with the restrictions imposed by the Gremio de la Vinatería (the powerful growers’ union), which would not let bodegas/exporters store the reserves of wine necessary for ageing (so they would have to buy more must from the growers). Haurie simply decided to take on all three sides of the business, and become a grower as well as an exporter and almacenista.

He binvested in spacious new bodegas and more vineyards. Like Murphy, he was a bachelor, and with succession in mind, he constituted a new company in about 1773 with his five nephews: Juan José, Juan Pedro, Juan Luís, Juan Carlos and Pedro de Lembeye y Haurie and named the firm Juan Haurie & Sobrinos.

He died in 1794, and his nephews continued with the firm, becoming the biggest exporters. Juan José had been longest in Jerez, and had many contacts and good knowledge of the industry, so his contribution to the company was decisive. Things did not go well, however.

These were difficult times, and Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808. With their French background, this made life very difficult for the sobrinos (and not a few other bodegas – French or not). Juan Carlos, who had really helped the firm to become the biggest exporter in Jerez, now faced a dilemma. Despite having always lived in Jerez, he still had French blood, and so opted to support the invaders during the War of Independence.

This provoked great anger and, on the 2^nd of June 1808, a furious crowd assembled, baying for his blood. Priests did all they could to restore the peace and preach forgiveness, but the people weren’t in the mood to listen. So the mayor decided to let loose the bulls at the crowd – a more efficient remedy than today's rubber bullets and tear gas!

Juan Carlos now received “favours” from the French. In Napoleon’s name, Maréchal Soult awarded him the concession to supply the French troops. Farmers and bodegueros were forced to supply him with their wares which he then handed over to the French, but he was allowed him to keep the wine and provisions he wanted. Even worse, Juan Carlos shamelessly began to collect the taxes imposed by the French on the people to pay for the war. The first French troops arrived in Xerez (as it was called then) at mid-morning on the 4^th February 1810, from where they initiated the siege of Cádiz. They left on the 26^th August 1812. After two and a half years of occupation, endless looting, abuse and oppression, they left Jerez in total ruin and desolation. In 1811, Joseph Bonaparte (nicknamed unaffectionately “Pepe Botella”, or Joe the Bottle (who in fact was not a drinker) celebrated his Saint’s Day, in his requisitioned house in the Calle Francos, exactly one year before the “year of hunger”.

After the French had finally been expelled, Juan Carlos Haurie was totally ruined. He had to pay a fortune in compensation, and the French Government “forgot” to pay its debts to him. Haurie was left alone and penniless. He couldn't possibly pay his debts, and had to pay his capataz (cellarmaster) Juan Sánchez in brandy, wine, anís or even their containers. Things did not improve, and in 1815 he was declared fraudulently bankrupt, and jailed. By this time the other sobrinos had all died.

Pedro Domecq Lembeye (from Usquain, Béarn) was Juan Carlos Haurie's brilliant cousin and great nephew of Juan Haurie, Although born in Jerez, had been working in London with a firm called Gordon, Murphy and Co. who were Haurie's agents. He later formed a company called Ruskin, Telford and Domecq who for a while imported both Haurie and Duff Gordon wines. Eventually when Pedro Domecq returned to Spain, Ruskin (1785-1864, father of John Ruskin) acted as his agent and both prospered.

From 1822 the bodega del Castillo at the Puerta de Rota, the San Blas cooperage, 144 ares of vineyard in the Macharnudo and 22 in Parpalana were leased to Pedro Domecq, and he ended up buying the lot - and paying off some off the debt. He also re-purchased the Macharnudo vineyard Haurie had been forced to sell. As Domecq once rightly said “I managed to make my entire fortune in only two years of hard work”.

Pedro Domecq

Juan Carlos was a complete scoundrel. Despite his agreement with Domecq, in 1824 he founded a new partnership involving William Garvey, his nephew Juan Haurie and James Wilson using Domecq’s good name. Wilson came from Dunbar in Scotland, and his brother, a doctor, would do great work during the cholera epidemic of 1834. Haurie claimed to be the biggest shipper, but most of the wine was in fact shipped by Garvey and Wilson. Juan Carlos died in 1828. Haurie proceeded to go bust in 1841, again in 1855, stuttering on somehow till 1877, when Domecq took over entirely. According to Customs records, they exported 2,340 butts in 1870. Pedro Domecq meanwhile, was making a great reputation and becoming very prosperous, building what would become one of the great bodega firms.

See also the post: Juan Haurie, a Smart Businessman

Juan Haurie, a Smart Businessman

Jean Haurie Nebot (1719-1794) was the first Haurie to arrive in Jerez and founded what was to later become the most international of the Sherry houses, Domecq. Yet little was known about this Frenchman who left Bearn in France like his relations, the Domecqs, and appeared in Jerez in the early days of the XVIII century. It was known that he had a bakery in the Plaza Plateros where he also sold silks and linen. He was a friend of fellow bachelor and neighbour Patrick Murphy, an Irishman of poor health to whom he lent money and helped him with most aspects of his wine business.

Javier Maldonado Rosso, a doctor in History, has studied Haurie, who in a recent public exhibition is revealed to have had a privileged mind, an incredible eye for business, and more importantly he was the man who led the transformation process from traditional viti-viniculture of XVIII century Jerez into its modern form.

When Murphy died, Haurie inherited everything, and now found himself mostly in the wine business. He was very shrewd, and no business opportunity passed him by. He was a tenant farmer of fields of cereal belonging to the Jerez aristocracy or to the Catholic Church, and this was a gold mine as he practised a sort of agrarian credit, giving out money against the next harvest but at a lower than market price. He did business with Cosme Duff Gordon, the British Consul in Cadiz, whom he appointed as his agent in Britain.

Perhaps his principal contribution was to do with viti-viniculture. Haurie summoned from France his four Haurie nephews, Juan Jose, Juan Pedro, Juan Carlos and Juan Luis, as well as his Domecq nephew, Pedro Domecq Lembeye and together they established the firm of Juan Haurie & Sobrinos in 1791. The company progressed well until it later reached the hands of Juan Carlos, who not only brought the firm to bankruptcy, but brought shame and hatred on himself for siding with the French during the Napoleonic invasion.

Juan Haurie wanted for nothing. To complete his requirements, he acquired 70 hectares of fine vineyard, buying more year after year including some on a fine slope in the Macharnudo. He managed to integrate all the processes of production of Sherry with those of sales abroad, from growing the grapes to selling aged wine on foreign markets through his British agent. He was therefore a grower, bodeguero and exporter, something no one else had yet achieved.

It had not been easy, though. He was up against the Gremio de Vinateria de Jerez (Guild of Vintners) which fixed prices for grapes and wine, imposed export quotas and controlled wages, as well as prohibiting merchants from keeping large stocks. The idea was to keep profits in the hands of the growers, but all it succeeded in doing was to restrict the growth of trade until it was wound up in 1834.

Faced with this ridiculous system, Haurie proposed a new, liberal agro-industrial system: he defended and practised the production of finished wines, that is, wines aged and blended to the taste of the customer (which required large stocks). Furthermore he proposed the abolition of fixed prices, and the freedom to sell wine all year round – another Gremio restriction. The proposed new liberal system needed a new style of company capable of developing it. These were the almacenistas and the ageing and shipping bodegas.

Sharp as a tack, Haurie knew how to attract the support of others like him.  In 1772 he initiated the collection of signatures among the small growers who hated the Gremio. On the 5^th of May the following year Haurie took the definitive step, presenting to the Council of Castilla (effectively the government) a formal request for the Gremio to be wound up. This engendered bitter argument between the two sides and became known as the “Haurie Case”, recognising him as the main promoter of the cause against the Gremio’s restrictions. This earned him some respect and he was seen as a leader giving hope to the Jerez wine producing bourgeoisie. He and his supporters were known as “Juan Haurie and his accomplices”, committed to political action and participating in economic societies, becoming almost a political party and gaining considerable influence as representatives of the people.

Slowly the Gremio began to lose its powers. Haurie moved on. As a representative of the people, he set about improving the upbringing of foundlings, the improvement of conditions for prisoners and the speeding up of their prosecution, the exemption of citizens of the requirement to lodge troops in their homes, among many improvements. His greatest achievements, however were in the fields of business and politics because the transformation of the traditional viti-viniculture of Jerez was a state-level matter with international importance.

Haurie came out on top. A Royal Decree of 1778 liberalised the production and commerce of wine throughout the whole country, invalidating the ordinances of the Gremio. Thus, the modernisation of viti-viniculture in the Jerez area advanced rapidly as did the demise of the Gremio system, which was abolished finally in 1834.

Interestingly, some of Haurie’s wine still exists in the ancient soleras held by Osborne, who bought them from Domecq who inherited them from Haurie. These VORS wines are Sibarita and Capuchino, and are available commercially in very limited quantities.

Bodegas: Pedro Domecq

Probably the oldest and certainly among the most important bodegas in Jerez, the story of this firm goes back to the XVIII century and the arrival in Jerez of an Irishman called Patrick Murphy in 1725. He came to work with timber but saw that the local wine could be a far better enterprise and established a bodega in 1730 - the date given by Domecq (not wholly inaccurately) of its foundation. Murphy made friends with a French expatriate called Juan Haurie who inherited the business after the former's death in 1762. Haurie worked hard on the ageing, storage and export of wines, and in 1791 his 5 nephews joined him in the business which they called Juan Haurie y Sobrinos. On Juan's death in 1794 the nephews inherited the bodega, but by 1814 only one, Juan Carlos Haurie survived, and he was beset by problems caused by the war with France and rented the bodega to Pedro Domecq, another expatriate Frenchman, to avoid bankruptcy.

Pedro Domecq Lembeye (1787-1839)

The Domecqs, a very old family, were country aristocrats in the southern Bearn region of France who were related to the Hauries (and the Loustaus). Their motto was "Domecq oblige". Because of their position in society they felt threatened by the  persecution of the French Revolution, and Pedro Domecq Lambeye went to London where he worked with the British agents for Haurie for a while before arriving in Jerez in 1816. The British agents were Gordon Murphy & Co.established by Duff Gordon, but the name was changed to Ruskin Telford & Domecq in 1809, and wound up in 1869, on the death of Ruskin. A grandson of Juan Haurie, Domecq was a very able man, and went on to acquire the bodega in 1818, renaming it Pedro Domecq in 1822. He brought a new type of still from France which he used to produce what he claimed was the first Jerez (and indeed Spanish) brandy and later launched the brand Fundador with great success in 1874.

The Domecq bodegas at the Puerta de Rota Jerez in an 1849 engraving

The most important soleras were laid down by Haurie: Capuchino (1790) and Sibarita (1792) and by Pedro Domecq: Amontillado 51-1a (1830), followed by Venerable PX (1902) and La Ina (1919). With the exception of La Ina, these soleras now produce the VORS wines sold at a minimum age of 30 years - though much older. The firm went on to produce many famous brands, listed below and was the first to produce Jerez brandy on a large scale. They were also the owners of extensive vineyard, mostly in the important pago Macharnudo where they owned the Castle and the Majuelo vineyard.

In 1855 Juan Pedro Domecq bought the lovely Palacio del Marques de Montana, built in 1778 and with a beautiful courtyard and detailing, and this became the seat of the Domecq dynasty, now known as the Palacio Domecq. It was restored and modified in the 1960s for commercial use. A famous resident was Jose Ignacio Domecq, a brilliant taster known to all as "La Nariz" (The Nose).

The Palacio de Domecq with a statue of the Marques de Casa Domecq

During the 1950s the company expanded into South America, most notably in Mexico where Domecq still makes the leading brandy (Presidente) and operates a successful wine company, being the largest wine and spirits company there. Expansion took place in Spain also with the acquisition of Bodegas Antonio de la Riva, Bodegas Agustin Blazquez, whisky distiller DYC and the Jerez Sherry and brandy firm Fernando A de Terry along with the establishment of a bodega in Rioja known as Domecq Domain. After managing to resist takeover by Rumasa, Grupo Domecq as it was now called fell prey in 1994 to the acquisitive British group Allied Lyons, owners of Harveys of Bristol, already owners of Bodegas Palomino Y Vergara, MacKenzie and Terry, and the new conglomerate Allied Domecq eventually itself fell prey to a takeover by Pernod Ricard in 2005 who sold off what was not of interest. As a rather sad result, the Domecq brands were scattered amongst various owners:

Pernod Ricard: Domecq Mexico
Beam Global: Harveys, Terry, Fundador and DYC
Lustau (Grupo Caballero): La Ina, Botaina, Rio Viejo, Vina 25 PX
Osborne: Carlos I and Carlos III brandy and the VORS range
Marques de Riscal: Marques de Arienzo Rioja (previously named Domecq Domain)

Beam was bought by Suntory in 2014 and the new Beam Suntory sold Harveys, Terry and Fundador to Phillipino brandy magnate Andrew Tan for 275 million euros in late 2015. The firm is now called Fundador, part of Andrew Tan´s Grupo Emperador. Tan, along with Gonzalez Byass, has since bought back those available of the brand names. Meanwhile Harveys have been winning lots of medals.

Among the many Domecq brands are/were:

Fino: La Ina  (Albeit Lustau now, but usually the highest scoring Fino in Guia Peñin)
Manzanilla: Pochola, Prodigio
Amontillado: Botaina; Amontillado 51-1a VORS; Jandilla; Primero; Imperial; Casarejo
Palo Cortado: Capuchino VORS
Oloroso: Rio Viejo; La Raza (Abocado); Sibarita VORS; Double Century, Añada 1840;
PX: Vina 25; Venerable VORS
Cream: Celebration
Brandy:  Tres Cepas, Fundador, Carlos I, Carlos III, Marques de Domecq

Visits and contact: 
Bodegas Fundador: www.grupoemperadorspain.com/es/contacto